Planning Your Wedding on the Princess Caroline

Introduction

You might be surprised by how many people choose to celebrate their marriage on board the Princess Caroline. It’s quite different to your normal hotel of golf club type of wedding venue, in fact it’s completely unique. With that in mind – we’ve put together a guide to help you understand how to plan your wedding with us.

First of all, we want to say how much we all really enjoy having weddings on board the ship, as it is so romantic on the water. If you can picture it in your mind, the ship is like the Orient Express on the Lower deck & just wonderful & light on the Bridge deck where it can be open or enclosed – so you are always comfortable – whatever the weather. ( Christmas is as busy for us as summer time !!)

Wedding Ceremony & Captain’s Blessing

Firstly, and contrary to common belief, captains of merchant vessels in the UK are not permitted to officiate or perform a wedding ceremony on board. This rule applies to the Princess Caroline, so we will work with you adjust the itinerary with us to suit you both according to the time that you are getting married.

However many couples do ask us to perform a Captain’s Blessing. The blessing ceremony is performed by the Captain in full uniform & although not legally binding it will look like it is for all guests viewing it.

It features the Captain’s blessing and the symbolic tying of a nautical knot – a traditional ceremony performed for many years. There is a small charge of £200 for this ceremony but it can be adapted to suit you both personally & it is so special that there are always plenty of tears (happy ones of course!).

Planning Your Day, Your Way

Pricing for a wedding reception start from £55.00 per person based on a minimum of 90 adult guests for evening reception & dependent on which date you would like – therefore flexibility helps enormously with pricing too !

Many couples have smaller more intimate numbers of guests to enjoy the Wedding breakfast & all others join later for the cruise & party. Others also sometimes marry abroad but would like a big cosy friendly party with everyone afterwards on returning. Everyone is different but our job is to make sure that it’s your day & we want you to feel like everything is exactly how you would like it within the budget that works for you.

The ship is famous for our high quality food. You can pick & chose any style that suits you both within whatever budget – below are some example ideas.

As it’s such a unique venue you must come down to Town Quay Marina & look around – we can then discuss all of your thoughts, ideas, budget etc to work out the best way forward to find you the ideal way to enjoy your wedding day.

Once on board you will not need to do anything except relax & enjoy being with all of your family & friends.Your guests will be invited down to eat etc by crew members & the whole day will roll into the night making amazing memories that are so different to your average wedding celebration.

Typical Wedding Itineraries

A typical wedding reception itinerary on board the Princess Caroline for up to 120 guests is as follows:

Afternoon Wedding Itinerary

12.00pm – All guests boarding the ship on Bridge deck with Welcome drink (Prosecco is £29.50 per bottle & soft drinks are available).

12.50pm – Guests invited below to Lower restaurant Deck where Captain’s Blessing will take place

1.00pm – Bride & Groom to enter to cheers & applause and join the Captain in place for the blessing

1.15pm – Wedding Breakfast will be served

2.30pm – Speeches to commence

1500 – Departing on gentle cruise in local waters – taking in all activities – River Beaulieu/River Hamble/ over to Cowes if good weather

10.00pm – Returning to homeport for gradual disembarkation of all guests at their leisure

10.45pm – Final drinks & farewells as last guests depart

Food and Drinks

Food ideas for Canapés

Please also feel free to allocate a set price per person for this area & we can work out ideas & suggestions within this pricing. For example, chose 5 canapés & we can price it accordingly – from £13 to £18.00 – they are all prepared freshly on board as you arrive:

Vegetable Samosas with Yoghurt & Mint Dip

Crudités served with hummus

Spinach & Feta Goujons

Smoked salmon Rolls filled with Cream Cheese & Chives

Herb & Garlic Bread

Chinese spring rolls served with Sweet Chilli dip

Baby tuna Tartlettes with dill & Lemon Mayonnaise

Chicken Satays

Asparagus tips wrapped in parma ham

Toasties topped with Melted Goats cheese & Red Peppers

Spicy Falafel

Tartlettes with Quails Eggs, Caviar & Lemon Mayonnaise

Mango & Halloumi Kebabs

Tiger Prawns wrapped in Filo Pastry with salsa

Smoked Haddock & Coriander fishcakes

Cucumber Rondels of Crab & Chilli dusted with Paprika

Bite size Salmon Fishcakes with Saffron Dip

Deep Fried Brie with Cranberry dip

Asparagus & Pea Risotto served on a Chinese Spoon

Marinated Tuna Carpaccio with Wasabi & Gherkin

Ideas for Main Courses

These are priced from £18.50 upwards per guest – you can play around & chose the parts that appeal.

Warm Bread with butter will be served with all of the menus below.

Some classic chicken and pork dishes:

Fillets of Chicken Supreme served with a Tarragon & Grape Sauce served with Chef’s Selection of Steamed Vegetables & Baby New Potatoes in Chive Butter

Premium Menus

Menu E (£42.50 per head)

Undoubtedly this is expensive, but we only buy the very best beef which is absolutely stunning to eat! The joint is cooked as a whole fillet so that it is well done on the outside & rare towards the middle as the chefs slice it in front of your guests.

And finally, perhaps served later on with evening guests a beautiful Decorated Wedding Cheese Cake.

Selection of ripe Fabulous Cheeses served with Rustic breads, Butter, Crackers, Olives, Grapes, Carrot & Celery Sticks, Home made Chutney Selection – to feed up to 100+ guests – £565 to £675. A smaller version can also be arranged – it’s really popular & very different way to enjoy later on in the cruise.

Drinks

The Princess Caroline has a cash bar, however you may like to offer your guests wine with their meal. This begins at 1/2 Bottle of House wine per person – £9.25. Alternatively, should you want to offer any drinks for during the Wedding Breakfast for example freshly brewed tea or coffee – we would ask who would like it rather than serve everyone & have lots of left overs to be paid for – £2.50 for ship’s mug with chocolate mint ( or cookie if freshly baked ) to go with it.

Bottles of Mineral Water are £3.00 – unfortunately we cannot offer tap water as it the ship does not have fresh running water tanks on board.

How to Book Your Wedding on board the Princess Caroline:

You are guaranteed a far more personal service with this family run business who have been in the boating & restaurant business for over twenty years in different countries. Each wedding on board our ship is meticulously planned and you can be assured of the wedding of a lifetime that your family and friends will always remember.

Quick Contact

Solent Party Ship Cruises Ltd. 82 Chesil Street, Winchester SO23 0HX. Registered in the UK. Registration Number: 4980366
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